WootBot

There are people whose livelihoods depend on crafting advertising that speaks to you, the average college-educated white male aged 18-35. So when it goes awry we like to present it here, in a little column called Badvertising, so we can all laugh and say, "No seriously. WTF?"

The ad:
A yuppie-ish bearded dad says goodbye to his family before heading off on a business trip. His adorable daughters joyfully exclaim that they made him a video, which they transfer to his phone via the "amazing" sync technology. As he hops in his cab, his loving wife leans in to mention that she made a video of her own for him to enjoy. Then, because Samsung isn't sure you got that reference as they beat you over the head with it, she adds, "Probably shouldn't watch it on the plane."

This ad is shot in that generic Instagram-looking fuzzy filter that all tech commercials use nowadays, and it's generic enough that I think most people glaze over it and don't hear that part at the end where the ad suggests how great this would be for sharing pornographic videos with loved ones. I first saw it over the weekend and three people I asked had to watch it again to pay enough attention to hear the wife's dialogue. Then all three responded with the exact same phrase:

"What. The. F---?"

Setting aside the dubious usefulness of "sharing playlists" or whatever (I can already see that's a feature you'll use maybe once, after you finally track down someone with the same phone, just to see it work and say you've done it before forgetting all about it), is this really what advertising has come to? I realize I might sound sort of like the elderly grandfather complaining about Elvis's gyrating hips, but come on. I get it: sexting is ubiquitous; do we really need to revel in it? And I say this as someone who fully supports your right to ruin your aspirations for political office and gainful employment via sending pictures of your naked body via SMS. As long as everyone's of age and consenting, I say go for it. Although given all the attention given to cell phone companies storing your data secretly and people being located and harassed by internet vigilantes thanks to the EXIF data in their phone pictures, I can't say I'd take the chance.

But as far as advertising a phone, stick to the cute photos of families and frolicking children. Everyone already knows whether or not they're going to use the 800MegaPixel camera for something filthy and indecent; we don't need advice from a gigantic Korean corporation about it. Who does this ad speak to? Sexually repressed young parents on business trips? That's a pretty niche market. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of hormonal teenagers are asking for Samsung Galaxy phones this Christmas, but I guess that's kind of the point.

tomprodehl

Is it bad to get your name spread around and more views of your ad from those who disapprove? I thought it was funny and it made the ad memorable. Without the suggestiveness, the ad would be completely contentless.

lukesaysmoo

My biggest complaint: that people write stories making it sound like a bad thing to have & share nude photos of oneself. Why exactly do you get to judge that sharing nude photos of myself makes me filthy and indecent?
How is it filthy or indecent? There's nothing inherently wrong in the practice & to suggest that it is both "filthy & indecent" is reprehensible degradation of another person.

krusch

Oh, I think you're taking this a bit too seriously. The point is, "cute scene brought to you by Samsung!".

all smartphones have 1000 features that are mostly useless, and 5 or 10 that you really care about. For a long time, that meant iPhone. But Samsung is coming up with creative ways to point out that Apple hasn't cornered the market on clever ideas on a phone. (Plus those "next big thing" ads are the most clever way of mocking the lemmings that I've ever seen, while still pointing out that Samsung has a bigger feature set.)

It's a clever ad; the sex tape itself isn't the point. It's that you can have a Galaxy S3 *and* still marry {Donna Moss & Maria Bello's love child}.

tedzilla99

I suppose you can disagree with the premise, and I agree that the technology definitely has limited appeal, but to say that is a bad ad is silly. It presents the tech and is suggestive and funny without being crass.

llandar

lukesaysmoo wrote:My biggest complaint: that people write stories making it sound like a bad thing to have & share nude photos of oneself. Why exactly do you get to judge that sharing nude photos of myself makes me filthy and indecent?
How is it filthy or indecent? There's nothing inherently wrong in the practice & to suggest that it is both "filthy & indecent" is reprehensible degradation of another person.

You must have missed the part where I said I was all for it, so long as everyone's of age and consenting.

rmarquet

As an S3 owner, I'm with you on the playlist sharing thing - it's either (a) "Here are the songs you have in a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MIND-BLOWING ORDER," or (b) "Here are a bunch of songs you don't own...go buy them." Either way, I can't see the value.

It's a funny commercial - I missed it last night. I also like the one that ends with, "This is the line for apps, right?"

HomerTime

Saying that the ad is "niche marketing" to "Sexually repressed young parents on business trips" is like saying Frosted Flakes is "niche marketing to anthropomorphic tigers" or suggesting that eTrade's prime target demographic is talking babies.

dukeofwulf

tomprodehl wrote:Is it bad to get your name spread around and more views of your ad from those who disapprove? I thought it was funny and it made the ad memorable. Without the suggestiveness, the ad would be completely contentless.

Agreed. This column should be titled "Column-demnation: Making Mountains Out of Molehills."

jhauck91

Woooow woot, when did you let Akin write blog posts? What people use their own personal belongings is their own personal business. This commercial was witty and very clever in the way it used a sex joke that the whole family can watch but the parents will be laughing their butts off. +10 points to Samsung, -5 points from Woot

RWoodward

There was some market research done decades ago that showed an alarmingly large number (well over half) of the people buying their first camcorder listed the desire to make "adult movies" at home as a primary influence on their purchase. Earlier research indicated a similar interest in viewing adult films at home as the number one reason people purchased VCRs. I'll leave it to you to research how much the availability of adult content has influenced the popularity of high-speed Internet access. The entertainment electronics industry has know this for longer than many Wooters have been alive. The only surprise is that it has taken them this long address it in their ads.

Vaelin

Yeah... "working professional(s) with kids who enjoy sex with their spouse but may not have much opportunity for intimate moments due to busy schedules" is not exactly a 'niche' market...

It's very nearly the definition of people with the amount of disposable income and tech savvy to make use of the latest smartphones. Sure, there are plenty if 'dinks' out there with lots of money and no kids, so they care much more about the last part of this ad. I think this very smartly catches a good part of the market's attention.

stevenhb

Count me among those who found the ad amusing. It was cute and suggestive, but in a way that was, essentially, clean. Advertising is intended to catch your attention. This ad succeeded: you and I noticed and commented.

How does that manage to get people to buy more Samsung phones? I have no idea. The tapping of devices to transfer information seems as pointless to me as it does to you. I have a GSIII and can't be bothered to do it even once.

imr90

I hate to pile on, but I also thought the ad was cute and not offensive. What I find offensive is the Samsung "next big thing" ad where the guy is saving a place on the apple line for his parents. I guess the most deal-killing uncool product you could ever buy is one that your parents also want. As a middle-aged parent I find THAT offensive.

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